My Vampire Family
by Jyuoa
Summary: When Cora arrives in Mystic Falls to help her friend with his Ripper problem, she finds herself teaming up with the rest of the group. She is determined not to give up on the Salvatores, due to the past that connects the three of them. But will their bond and her new friendships survive the twists and turns of Mystic Falls? One-sided J/OC, Delena, Stelena, Beremy and OC/OC.
1. Return of a Friend Part 1

At the Boarding House, Damon was tending to Elena. She had been having a really rough night and he couldn't help but feel responsible. He poured her a glass of scotch. "Here, it'll help you forget." While he was out, Klaus had ambushed the group at school and compelled his brother to turn off his emotions.

She took the glass, though still seemed upset. "Yeah, it's strong. You know I can help you forget, too. At least the memories you don't want to keep."

"No. No compulsion. I need to remember. All of it." Elena told him. He knew she was trying to be strong again. He fished her necklace out of his pocket.

"I stole it back for you."

"He's really gone this time." She said, sounding close to tears. "I watched it happen. After everything that we went through to get... to help him. Now he's just... Gone." She looked at him "Where were you, Damon?"

"I shouldn't have left. I promise you... I will never leave you again." He told her. She gave him a faint smile, though she still seemed upset. Just then, there was a knock on the door. They looked at each other.

"Brother, is that you?"

"If it were me, I wouldn't already be inside by now." He heard his brother call from upstairs.

Damon got up to answer the door. When he did, he saw a young woman. She was slightly shorter than him, about Elena's height, he supposed. She had short, red hair and eyes as blue as the ocean. She was wearing denim jacket and skirt, despite it being cold out, as well as a green shirt underneath.

"Can I…can I help you?" He asked her.

"It's been a long time, Damon." The girl said, smiling.

"Do I know you?" He asked. The girl twisted a chain under her clothes.

"You don't remember me, do you? I'm almost insulted, considering everything I did to help you two in Europe over a century ago." As she spoke, Damon noticed that the chain she was holding had a unique charm on it: a small glass case with a few stems of vervain inside.

There was only one other person he knew of that carried a vervain charm. "Cora?" He asked. She smiled.

"Took you long enough." She wrapped her arms around him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, almost relieved to see a friendly face for once. "Wait a minute, how are you here? When you left, you were human."

"It's a long story, Damon." Cora said.

"Why don't you come inside?" He asked her. She hesitated. "It's okay, you're safe here."

They entered the living room. "Damon, are you…" She paused when she noticed Cora. The girls looked at each other for a few minutes.

"Cora, this is Elena."

"Where've I heard that name before?" Cora wondered. "Wait, are you Stefan's girlfriend?" Elena looked at her surprised.

"Uh…yeah. Well, sort of. I think we're kind of broken up, but…I'm sorry, who are you?" She asked, flustered by everything.

"She's an old friend of ours."

"I'm Cora."

"So by friend, do you mean…" Elena began to ask. The two looked at each other and started laughing.

"Me? And Damon? You have to be kidding!" Cora said. "No, many years ago in London, they both helped me through a rough time. One of the bad ones had kidnapped my sister, so we decided to stick together. As we fought him, we sort of became family. When it was all over, I headed to Mystic Falls to start a new life."

"Wow, makes the evil we've fought here seem like it happened almost a decade ago." Elena said.

"Yeah, only when we parted ways, Cora was still human." Damon told her. "So what happened?"

"Well, it happened years ago." Cora said.

"I can see that, you look a little older since the last time we met." Damon said.

"That's because I was turned about five after meeting you two." Cora told him. "Um…"

"It's okay. I know everything." Elena told her. "I know all about vampires, witches, and other supernatural beings."

"Okay. Then I'll tell you both." Cora said. "After defeating our old enemy in London, I headed to Mystic Falls, like you guys suggested. The Bennett family took me in. I became pretty close with this girl, Leslie. She happened to be a witch, though she practiced rarely because some of her ancestors burned."

"So, what happened?"

"She was my only friend when it happened." Cora told them. "As for how I turned, I met someone a few years after I'd settled in. I had actually gotten married in the short time I was there and I helped look after Leslie's kids. One day we were tending to the garden…"She paused as she remembered what happened.

She and Leslie were outside with the kids, planting flowers and herbs for the garden, when she noticed him. "Who is that?" Cora asked.

"I don't know, but he isn't welcome here." Leslie said. "I've noticed him hanging around the past few weeks, but he doesn't really belong here."

"Neither did I when I first arrived." Cora pointed out. "Want me to talk to him?"

"Be careful, child." Leslie said. Cora walked over to him.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"Oh, sorry. I was just admiring the garden."

"Well, you should probably go somewhere else. You're scaring the family members."

"I'll leave now."

"Even though I knew there was a risk, part of me was drawn to him." Cora admitted to the others. "Not that I didn't like my husband, but he'd passed after I'd known him for a couple years. I started taking walks with the new guy. One day, he asked if I wanted to be with him forever. Being the still-human dreamer that I was, I didn't think he meant _forever_ forever."

"That's the oldest trick in the book." Damon told her.

"I know, but in my defense, I had no idea that my would-be love interest was a vampire." Cora said. "Fortunately, Leslie was able eliminate him, but not before he'd killed me first."

"Hey, I've been there before." Damon said. "I know what it feels like when the person you think you had feelings for changes you." Cora held him close.

"Yeah, well, given the recent news, I'd say none of us are good with love right now." Cora said. Elena moved slightly closer and embraced both of them. "You might not want to get so close. You're wound's still open."

"Right. Sorry." Elena moved back a little. "So how'd you get through the transition?"

"It's kind of hard to relive, but I'll tell you anyway."


	2. Return of a Friend Part 2

In the past, Leslie had set Cora down on her bed. She was still asleep. The second she stepped outside however, she heard a gasp from behind the door. She quickly entered it. Cora was awake, and seemed to be confused. "Cora?"

"Leslie. Something's wrong with me."

"What is it?"

"Don't get too close." Cora told her. "I can hear your heartbeat from way over here. How's it possible?"

"Oh, dear." Leslie said. "Don't worry, I think I can help you." And then she left the room.

"So, that Bennett witch still stayed your friend even after you transitioned?" Damon asked, pulling her back to the present.

"Yes." Cora told him. "And she became my only friend once it happened. I had to be careful around the rest of the family. She was the only one who knew my secret, and she kept it the rest of her life. Even the kids didn't know."

"Did she also make that daylight ring you're wearing?" Elena asked, glancing at her hand. There was an opal-shaped blue stone in the center.

"Yeah, she did." Cora said. "She remembered how Emily used to make them and figured out how to make it possible for me to go into the sun again."

"How did you manage to stay in control?" Damon asked her. "Even I struggled with it slightly for the first couple months."

"Well, Leslie and some of the others knew of another vampire in town." Cora said. "Apparently she stopped by their place every now and then."

"Don't tell me she was blonde."

"How did you know?" Cora asked, completely shocked.

"Wait, you knew Lexi?" Elena asked her.

"We were best friends after I turned." Cora explained. "She taught me how to survive off animals until blood bags were invented, and we spent a good few years traveling together."

"I'm surprised you didn't show up with a whole entourage of friends." Damon told her.

"Well, since meeting Lexi, I've only had a few close friends, including her boyfriend, another friend of hers that I've lost track of, and a couple of vampires that appeared to be on the run. Though the girl and I became kind of close before she just disappeared on us." She explained to them.

"What girl?" Damon asked, having a bad feeling.

"She was kind of tall, a little jumpy, but she had a good heart." Cora said. "We tried to set her up on a date once, but she declined."

Elena remembered something then. "Did she have short, brown hair and green eyes?"

"I don't remember her physical features or her name, but I do remember she was beautiful." Cora said. "Sometimes I wonder if she's still around."

"Oh, I doubt it." Damon said. "If it's the same girl I'm thinking of, she got bitten by a werewolf."

"I've heard about them. Their bite's deadly to vampires, right?" Cora asked. They nodded. "I also heard from an anonymous source that hybrid's blood is the only way to cure it."

"Sounds like my doppelganger's been busy." Elena said.

"Anyway, talking about my friends then isn't going to help two of my oldest ones now." Cora said.

"Speaking of which, how'd you even find out about us?" Damon asked. "Your anonymous source?"

"Actually, I was waiting for you to ask." Cora told him. "How I got the information, I'm not too happy about though."

**A/N: Sorry about the short chapter, you'll find out about how Cora learned about Stefan's current condition in the next chapter. **


	3. Return of a Friend Part 3

Flashback: Chicago, a few days ago. Cora had finished speaking with a friend and had waved her off, when she caught site of a woman in the phone booth. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but then she heard Stefan's name. She walked slightly closer, using her hearing to listen in. "Let me guess…it ended in tears and heartbreak."

"Where are you?" She heard a voice on the other end of the line say. He sounded vaguely familiar.

"Why? Do you want to come rub sunscreen on my back?" The girl asked.

"I'm thinking Europe. Italy, maybe Or Spain. You were always a sucker for those lazy afternoons."

"Keep guessing, Damon. Bye-bye." The girl said. She hung up and walked out of the phone booth.

"Excuse me." Cora walked over to her. "I couldn't help but overhear. You know Stefan, as in Stefan Salvatore?"

"Sort of." The girl said. "I'm trying to help him, though he probably still sees me as the evil vamp who turned him." To Cora, that story sounded familiar.

"Katherine?" She asked.

"Not so loud. I have enemies in this town, if they find out I'm here…" The girl told her.

"I get it." Cora said.

"Well you obviously know me, but how do you know them?" Katherine asked. Cora looked at her.

"You told her that you were our sister?" Damon asked. Elena had been leaning against him, trying not to fall asleep. She seemed wide awake now, looking just as surprised as Damon.

"Did I really have another choice?" Cora pointed out. "I didn't want her thinking that there was anything between the three of us, and she obviously knew that I knew you two. Besides, on my part, at least it wasn't a total lie."

"You really care about them like siblings, don't you?" Elena asked.

"That's right. That's why it's not a complete lie." Cora said. "How do you know…"

"Because I feel the same way around my best friends and Matt." Elena told her. "And I have a brother."

"Hate to break up the girl bonding, but why were you in Chicago in the first place?"

"I went to support some of my friends. They had gotten a part in some musical at the theater." Cora explained. "Anyway, they had just left town while I decided to explore, and that's when I ran into Katherine. She explained everything to me."

"What did she say?"

"She said that Stefan was paying a debt to an Original vampire." Cora told them. "And that she wanted to help get him out of it. Of course, I was in, only it wasn't until tonight I learned how bad it was."

"But how'd you know where…" Damon asked.

"I followed Katherine to Mystic Falls." Cora said. "I watched from a distance and spent a couple days at a hotel. I just wish I could've intervened tonight."

"Hey, you couldn't have known things would turn out the way they did." Elena said. "I tried to help, but it wasn't enough."

"I'm sure you did your best, Elena." Cora said. "I want to help. I know it's dangerous, and that Originals can compel vampires, that's why I still have this charm." She held it up to them. "Though I can see why he put it in this case now. Even if I'm not directly touching it, it makes my skin breakout."

"Are you sure you want to get involved in this?" Damon asked, concerned. "It could be dangerous."

"You both helped me before, even tried to give me the chance to start over." Cora said. "I'd do anything to help my friends and family. I know it'll be hard, but if it means we get the real Stefan back, I'm in."

"We could use the extra help." Elena said. "After everything that's happened tonight, we could use more people on our side right now. And you seem to know a lot about this."

"I've always been good at observing." Cora told her. "And someone has to keep them from fighting, or worse, killing each other. Especially with Stefan's humanity off."

"I really hope you know what you're getting into here." Damon said to her.

"I know exactly what I'm getting into, besides, I know how to handle myself." Cora pointed out. "After all, I'm like you guys now and I know a lot about self-defense."

"It's good to have you on the team, then." Elena said, smiling slightly.

"There's a guest room upstairs if you need somewhere to stay." He told Cora as she left the room.

"Wow." Elena said. "She seems nice."

"She's a lot like you: compassionate, quick-thinking, and very smart." Damon told her. "You should probably get home soon." Elena nodded, though she still seemed only half-awake. Tomorrow, things would be different, though. She knew everything was about to change.


	4. Meeting the Team

The next day, Cora was headed downstairs when she passed by some blonde girl. "Oh, I see they have help. Mind helping me with my bags?" She asked her.

Cora was surprised and had no idea what she was talking about. "Um, I'm sorry, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"My brother left me here and I'm assuming you're the help."

"Wrong, I'm not the help. I'm Cora." She told her coldly. "Cora Salvatore."

"I didn't know they had a sister."

"Well, it's kind of a long story and not many people know about me." Cora told her. "And you are?"

"Rebekah. I believe you've heard of my brother, he has yours protecting some doppelganger bitch." Cora was surprised.

"Hey, is everything okay up here?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, I was just leaving." Cora said. "Damon, can we talk?"

"I think I know a good place."

He led Cora to the outdoor patio behind the house. Even though it was autumn, several of the plants were still in bloom. "Wow, this place is beautiful."

"I thought you'd like it out here."

"It reminds me of the gardens back in Ireland." Cora said. "So, what's our Original visitor doing here?"

"Apparently she's moving in because Klaus left her here." Damon said. "I don't know much about her, but you might not want to get on her bad side. Originals are much stronger than normal vampires. Promise me you'll never take this vervain charm off."

"I won't." Cora said. "After all, it has a lot of value to me." She remembered how Stefan had found it when it'd fallen off her and gave it back to her. "So, what's our strategy?"

"For now, we do our best to help Elena." Damon said. "Speaking of which, she should know about this." He headed into the house. Cora stayed outside to admire the view a little longer, before going back inside and joining him.

When she did, he was already on the phone with Elena. "You might not want to come here for a while. We have a new housemate. Barbie Klaus."

"Rebekah? She's living with you now?" Cora heard Elena say over the phone. "Why?"

"She's stranded. Apparently Klaus left her in the dust after I name-dropped Mikael." Damon said.

"What about Stefan? What is he up to?"

"Oh, you know. Journaling, reading, shaping his hair."

"Come on, Damon. I can handle it." Elena said.

"To be honest, even I'm not sure what he's up to." Cora said. "But I know the one we have to look out for is Rebekah. Seems like she could be trouble."

"That would be an understatement." Elena said. "See you later." She hung up.

A few hours later, Cora followed Damon to the gym. "Any reason why you decided to drag me along?" She asked.

"Would you rather be dueling it out with that Original girl back home?" He pointed out. "Besides, I figured you'd be better at the girl talk thing."

Once they got inside, they found Elena lifting weights. "What? Are you going to bench press a vampire?" Damon asked her.

"Do you actually know what's happening right now? Stefan called me a human blood bag. He's a completely different person." Elena told them.

"I should've guessed. We spent two hours cleaning the living room." Cora said. Damon pressed on the weight.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked him.

"Helping you out."

"Damon!"

"Come on, Buffy!"

"Enough, she's human. Do you want to break her spine?" Cora asked him. He let go so she could get up.

"Like one obnoxious Salvatore isn't bad enough." Elena said once she finally got into a sitting position.

"Trust me, you'd be surprised how often they fought more than they worked together." Cora told her, sitting next to her.

"You called. I'm here. What's your plan, oh warrior princess?"

"I want to lock Stefan up, at least until this Mikael guy comes, kills Klaus, and the compulsion breaks." Cora and Damon looked at each other.

"Compulsion or not, Stefan's high on human blood. A lot of it." Damon said.

"You've gotten him off of it before." Elena pointed out.

"This is different. It's not a stint in rehab, Elena. His humanity's gone. Light's out. No one's home."

"Then do it for me, Damon. Every single time I look at him, I feel like I'm going to break." Elena said. "And I'm not going to give him that satisfaction." She got up.

"Hey, you know we're here for you." Cora said. "We've got you're back. Here," She handed her a piece of paper. Elena looked and saw there was a phone number. "If you ever want to talk about it, you can call me."

"Thanks, Cora."

"I'll be out in the hallway if you need me." Cora said, heading out of the room. A few minutes later, they came out.

"If we're going to lock him up, we're going to need help." Elena was saying.

"Okay, but how do we know this is going to work?"

"I don't, but we need to do something about this." Elena said.

"Yeah, but even the three of us alone won't be able to lock him down." Cora said. Elena and Damon looked at each other. He nodded to her.

"You should come with us." Elena told her. "I'm calling a group meeting."

A few minutes later, they were in a classroom with a few other people. They were going over the plan. "I'll lure Stefan away from the bonfire." Elena said. "Then when he's distracted..."

"I'll shoot him." Alaric said. "Just long enough to incapacitate him." He clarified.

"Can't Bonnie just ju-ju him or something?" Damon asked.

"I'm trying to keep Bonnie out of this. I don't trust that Stefan won't hurt her." Elena said. "Caroline, are you covered?"

"Yes! I will make sure that the old Forbes jail cell is prepped and ready." Caroline said.

"We're forgetting a key player here." Damon said. "Rebekah? Wherever Stefan goes, the blond ponytail tends to follow."

"Which is why it's your job to keep her away."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to knock her out?" Cora asked.

"She's an Original, remember? Even a regular stake to the heart won't work on her." Damon pointed out.

"I'm sorry, this is off topic, but who are you?" Caroline asked. She didn't say it in a mean tone, she had no idea why she was there.

"She's…" Damon looked at Cora. "She's our sister."

"How many of you are there?" Caroline asked.

"I'm adopted." Cora explained. "Don't tell anyone, though. This secret, this one stays between the five of us, okay?" Everyone nodded. "So, how are you two involved?"

Elena answered for her. "Caroline's like you guys, Cora. She got turned last year, but Stefan helped her get through it." Caroline nodded, smiling.

"And the teacher?" Cora asked.

"Alaric's a vampire slayer." Damon told her. She seemed surprised. "And a sort-of friend of ours."

"He's also my guardian." Elena explained. "Since my parents are dead-birth and adoptive."

"So he's one of the good guys." Cora said. Elena nodded.

"Back to getting back to distracting Rebekah…" Caroline said, getting them back on topic.

"Right, Damon can handle that." Elena said.

"How?! She's an original. Last time I checked, we're out of daggers." Damon said.

"So then preoccupy her with your charm." Elena said.

"Might have better luck finding the dagger." Alaric said.

"Are ever not going to be mad at me for a day?" Damon asked him.

"Doubtful." Cora looked at them.

"Let me guess, they got into a fight."

"Apparently." Elena said. Just then, a dark haired kid entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late. What's going on?" He asked.

"We need you to raid your mom's vervain supply. Enough to keep Stefan down for a while." Elena told him.

"You can't do that to Stefan."

"Why not?" Caroline asked.

"Trust me, Tyler, it's in his best interest."

"Yeah. It's not in Klaus's." Tyler said. Cora was really confused as to what was going on. Just then, her phone buzzed. Damon had texted her about the new kid who'd just entered.

-Tyler Lockwood, Mayor's son, Klaus turned him into a vampire-werewolf hybrid.

Cora looked up at him, concerned.

"But Klaus is the bad guy, Tyler. You know, why are you acting like some freaky, hybrid, slave minion?" Caroline asked.

"Uh-oh." Damon said. At that moment, Cora knew that Damon knew what was going on with him. Alaric seemed to notice, too.

"Klaus made me who I am, Caroline. I owe him everything." Tyler said. Suddenly, Damon shoved a vervain dart into him. Tyler passed out on the spot.

"What are you doing?!" Caroline asked.

"He's been sired." Damon told the group.

"What?"

"Sired. He feels loyal to Klaus because Klaus's blood turned him." Damon explained.

"Loyal how?"

"He'll seek acceptance from his master. It's really rare. But maybe not so much in hybrids."

"So how do I fix him?" Caroline asked.

"Get a new boyfriend." Damon said.

"Wait, you two are…" Cora began.

"Well, we were, are, I'm not so sure about now, but..." Caroline sighed. "I'll take care of this."

"I'll help." Cora said. The two of them picked up Tyler, who was still unconscious, and carried him out of the classroom.

"Let's get him to my car." Caroline told her as they pulled him through the hallways. "I'll take him home."

"Okay." Cora said. "So, you're dating?"

"Well, sort of. It just kinda happened." Caroline told her. "After I became a vampire and he became a werewolf, we started hanging out, trying to help each other deal with the changes that came with them, running from the bad guys, you know, the usual."

Cora laughed. "Well, that's refreshing. Considering how most werewolves consider vampires enemies."

"Well, to be fair, we grew up together." Caroline said. "We just hadn't gotten to know each other until we'd both changed." They placed Tyler in the passenger's side of Caroline's car. "What about you? Any guys?" She asked as they closed the car door.

Cora hesitated. While she had loved her husband, she had never actually been in love before. "Nothing serious," She finally said. "I've dated a lot of different guys, human and vampire, but there was never any…passion, I guess. Granted, I was widowed for a year before I turned"

"But you're eighteen." Caroline pointed out, surprised.

"It was still the eighteen hundreds, things were different then." Cora told her.

"Well, I'm sure one day you'll find the right guy for you." Caroline said.

"Thanks, Caroline." Cora said, smiling.

"Okay, you better get back and help the others." Caroline said. "You have a phone?" Cora nodded and handed it to her. Caroline did something with it, then handed it back to her. "If you ever need anything, call me. No matter how tired I am, I'll answer." She got into her car and drove off.

Cora looked at her phone and saw that Caroline had added her number. She headed back into the school and almost collided with two people in the hallway.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you." She said.

"It's okay." The girl said. Cora thought she was beautiful. Her dark hair flowed just below her shoulders. She noticed a guy with dark hair and blue eyes behind her.

"Are you okay?" He asked. That brought her back to reality. She hadn't realized she'd been staring at him.

"Yeah, just trying to find my way around here." Cora said. "I'm Cora."

"My name's Bonnie." The girl told her, holding out her hand. Cora shook it. Bonnie's expression became a mix of confusion and surprise.

"Bon, you okay?" The guy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Jeremy."

"Wait. Jeremy Gilbert?" Cora asked.

"How do you know who I am?"

"I'm a friend of Elena." She explained. "I came here so I could help you guys."

"Do…do you know Stefan?" Bonnie asked her.

"We're family." Cora told them.

"So, you're…one of them?" Jeremy asked. Cora nodded, knowing that he was trying to avoid saying the v word so he wouldn't offend her.

"What brings you here?" Bonnie asked. She didn't seem surprised, exactly, since she was used to new vampires showing up, but she also wasn't sure if she should trust Cora yet.

"Elena and Damon asked me to help them." Cora told her. "But first, I need to find them. Which way's the bonfire?"

"You show her." Bonnie told Jeremy. "I'm going to find Matt." Bonnie headed down the hall.

"What happened?" Cora asked.

"It's nothing. We're…sort of in a fight." Jeremy admitted. "It's complicated."

"Well, I hope you guys make up." Cora told him.

"I hope so, too." Jeremy said. "Come on, I think they set it up near the woods behind the field house. I'll show you." He led her outside of the school and toward the forest area.

"So, I'm guessing you heard about what happened to Stefan." He said as they walked.

"That an Original vampire known as Klaus compelled him to shut off his humanity and act as your sister's bodyguard? Yeah, I'm caught up on that much." Cora said. "I can't believe you guys got into this mess in the first place."

"How do you know about Originals anyway?" Jeremy asked.

"A friend of mine warned me to never make a deal with an Original, said it was like a double-edged sword." Cora said. "There's always too much risk of an innocent person getting hurt."

"You don't sound like you're from around here." Jeremy said.

"I'm from Ireland." Cora explained. "I moved to London in 1887. That's where I met the Salvatore brothers. It's a long story, really, you probably don't want to hear all this."

"I don't mind. Stefan's been a friend of ours for a while." Jeremy said. "And while I don't like Damon, I appreciate that he's been helping us. Besides, with these Original vampires popping up, it's nice to have another good one on our side."

"Uh, thanks." Cora blushed. "Is there anything else you can tell me about your friends? I've already met the teacher/hunter, Caroline, and Tyler."

"Well, I don't want to get in any more trouble with Bonnie as it is." Jeremy told her. "She'll tell you about herself."

"Are you two together?" Cora asked. Jeremy seemed surprised. "I have a tendency to notice small things and the way you talk about her, it's kind of obvious you like her."

"Really?" Jeremy asked.

"Hey, it's cool. She seems nice, though kind of distant."

"Believe me, she has her reasons…whoa."

By one of the fire pits, they found Damon on the ground with a branch in his abdomen. They walked over to him. Cora pulled the branch out. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"She figured out I was stalling her, skewered me, and left." Damon told her. He winced in pain.

"You'll heal, right?" Cora asked, sitting next to him.

"Yeah, though it might take a while."

"Hey, where's Elena?" Jeremy asked.

"She's still working on her part of the plan." He told him. "I hope."

"Is she in trouble?"

"No, she's fine. This plan was her idea in the first place." Cora pointed out. "We should trust that she knows what she's doing."

A few minutes later, they were helping Damon up. His phone beeped and he looked at it. "It's Ric."

"What's up?" Jeremy asked.

"Oh, that's not good." He said, looking at the message.

"Did something happen?" Cora asked, concerned.

"According to him, the ghost of some girl we used to know blew up his car." Cora and Jeremy looked at him horrified. "They're all okay, though."

"Thank god!" Jeremy said. "Elena could've been killed."

"You mean again?" Damon pointed out. He'd said it sarcastically, but Cora could see he was relieved they'd all survived. She put a comforting hand on Jeremy's shoulder.

"We should help them." Cora said. "Someone's gotta give them a ride home, considering their first one exploded."

"Hang on." They turned to Jeremy. "Tell Elena that I'm going home. With the way this night's been going..."

Cora understood. She'd been human before and she knew how hard the supernatural stuff could be. "Go on. I'm sure she'll meet you there."

"Thanks." Jeremy said. He turned around and left.

"I'm sure Alaric will make sure they're both okay." Damon said as they started walking toward the parking lot

A few hours later, they were at the Boarding House. Cora walked in as they started fighting about applying medicine. "Give it to me. I can do it." Elena was saying.

"No, let me." Damon insisted.

"Damon, come on."

"Elena, you almost got barbecued. The least I can do is apply first aid." Damon pointed out. She accepted and let him apply it.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help heal you?" Cora asked. "You've gotten a lot of injuries in the past few days."

"It's fine, Cora." Elena told her.

"Besides, she's not really a fan of vampire blood." Damon added. Elena flinched involuntarily. "Sorry." He stopped applying the aid cream.

"It's okay, keep going." She told him. As he healed her, Cora headed back into the hallway and nearly bumped into Alaric.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Alaric told her. "So, you're their sister?"

"Adopted sister, technically." Cora said. "But they're family to me."

"I understand." Alaric said. "I feel the same way about Elena and Jeremy." Cora seemed surprised, but then she smiled. "Have you considered enrolling at the school?"

"Me? A student?" Cora said.

"Why not? I saw how you tried to help us get up unharmed after what happened back there. Besides, it'd give you an opportunity to bond with the rest of the group."

"I'm not sure all of them will trust me." Cora said, remembering how Bonnie had practically run off.

"It doesn't matter. From what I've seen, you'll fit in just fine with them."

"Thank you." Cora told him. She headed back down the hall. Damon had given her a room halfway down the hall from his. She hadn't had to unpack much (one of the perks of being a vampire-at least in her books).

There was a small window that overlooked the garden out back, a small dresser with a mirror was pressed against one wall. There was also an old chestnut desk on the side. She guessed the room used to belong to a writer. Currently, she had a few books lying on it. There was a small bathroom with a walk-in shower and what looked like a canopy over her bed.

She changed into a sky blue nightgown and lay back against her bed. There was a knock at the door. Damon entered. "Hey."

"Hey." Cora said, sitting up. "Checking up on me?"

"Just wanted to see if you were okay. That fire was nasty."

"I'm fine, Damon." Cora said. "So, your friend seems nice. You know, the history teacher?"

"Right."

"I've been thinking about our plan. Maybe I should try and get close with the others."

"Go for it." He said. "From what I've seen, you're already part of our little club anyway. And it's not like you need my permission to do this."

"I know, but I thought you should know about it." Cora told him. He started to leave the room.

"Oh, if it helps, most of us are going to be setting up for some town event tomorrow. Most of them are always helping out at those things."

"Thanks, Damon." Cora said.

"No problem." He headed toward the door. When he got there, he turned to ask her something, he found her asleep on her bed. He smiled, turned her light off, and left her room.


End file.
